THE Human Rights Act certainly seems to be coming home to roost, emphasising that the rights of the individual are valued more than the rights of the group.

Detaining terrorist suspects considered to be a danger to the nation is now illegal without cast iron proof, such as perhaps a sworn affidavit by the suspect that they are about to murder innocent citizens.

Prison governors may no longer impose extra days behind bars for prisoners who misbehave (in fact the practice has not imposed "extra days" on a prisoner's sentence, as we all know that when a judge says 18 months, he really means nine).

It does make one wonder how much longer schools like Ermysted's can continue handing out detention for smoking behind the bike sheds.

One can picture little Johnny turning up alongside his legal brief, to argue that the headmaster is acting as judge and jury by handing out a few hundred lines without giving the alleged miscreant the opportunity of full scale legal hearing into his defence that the dog did, honestly, eat his homework.

We await with interest the first to challenge a headmaster's right to impose a punishment without a tribunal hearing.